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Lake Oconee
Lake Oconee is an excellent fishing lake located in central Georgia on the Oconee River near Greensboro, the real Buckhead and Eatonton. Oconee is known for very good bass fishing, great crappie fishing for huge slabs, and very good fishing for linesides and catfish. The lake was created in 1979 when Georgia Power completed the construction of the Wallace Dam on the Oconee River. Lake Oconee runs through Georgia's Morgan, Greene, and Putnam counties and is separated from its sister lake, Sinclair, by Wallace Dam. Lake Oconee is home to a number of golf communities, including Reynolds Plantation, Cuscawilla, and Harbor Club.
Lake Oconee Resources
Oconee: Level: 0.1 feet below 435. Temp: 65 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “During the month of December, I look for the fish to be toward the backs of pockets with bait in them. December is a good month to target fish shallow around rocks. With the cooler water, the fish will be a little slower, so slow down the presentation. I like to slow-roll a 1/2-oz. white spinnerbait this time of year. Check the areas around 44 bridge and south to Old Salem. Look for bait on the shallow secondary points with rock. The largemouth won’t be far away. I also like a green-pumpkin jig with a junebug trailer. It seems to get the bigger bites this time of year. It’s wintertime—slow down and use bigger-profile baits for bigger bites.” Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “It’s the most…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
It was an overnight fishing trip to remember in the upper stretches of Lake Oconee for Lynn Lucas, of Eatonton, and his friend Will Hawn. Lynn, who turned 78 years old at the end of May, said they fished the night of May 8 and into the morning of May 9. By daybreak, they had…
I enjoy college kids. They look at the world through a whole different set of eyes than I do, and when it comes to bass fishing, they are a good reminder that old tricks aren’t always the best tricks when it comes to catching fish. Clayton Childs, 21, of Bishop, recently graduated from college, but…
On Feb. 24, Mac McCutchin, of Greensboro, caught a rainbow trout from Lake Oconee that weighed 1 1/2 pounds and measured 15 inches long. Mac was fishing off his dock hoping to catch some crappie. “When I first got out there, I caught some crappie and a couple of catfish,” said Mac. After two hours,…
Brad Stalnaker rolled to a first-place finish in the Jan. 12 ABA tournament on Lake Oconee with almost a 4 1/2-lb. margin over second place. Brad had a five-bass limit that weighed 19.13 pounds. He earned $735 for first. Second place went to Kip Carver, who had 13.85 pounds. The tournament drew 35 anglers, including…
Ricky Boles, a DNR Law Enforcement Ranger First Class, spent Monday morning, Oct. 16, waiting for an accused violator to show up at the Putnam County courthouse. The man was late for his court appearance, and when he did show, a relative had to interpret for the man because he spoke no English. Unfortunately, communication…
Lake Oconee Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 12-lbs., 14-ozs. | Bill Brantley | 05/14/12 |
| Hybrid Bass | 14-lbs., 4-ozs. | Jan Allen Ward | 04/03/91 |
| Striped Bass | 29-lbs., 14.9-ozs. | Fred Worthy | 05/10/96 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 12-ozs. | Edward Rhodes | 02/10/97 |
| Channel Catfish | 34-lbs., 8-ozs. | Jonathan Clifton | 05/31/98 |
| Blue Catfish | 70-lbs., 2-ozs. | Koob Moua | 03/22/23 |
| Flathead Catfish | 62-lbs., 10.4-ozs. | Rob Allgood | 03/11/23 |
| White Bass | 3-lbs., 6-ozs. | Tony Couch | 04/02/93 |
| Longnose Gar | 20-lbs., 13-ozs. | Dustin Turk | 10/05/19 |
| Chain Pickerel | 1-lb., 2-ozs. | Terry Brice | 03/05/17 |
| Spotted Bass | 5-lbs., 3.2-ozs. | Austin Skinner | 03/19/22 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 14.56-ozs. | Randy Smith | 04/23/22 |
| Yellow Perch | 11-ozs. | John Moore | 02/16/23 |